Can Spider-Man Save The Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Some characters are destined to be adored upon their very creation. Their instant idolization and adoration are predictable in nature due to how they’re brought to life and how lived-in they feel. The “everyday man” appeal of Peter “Spider-Man” Parker is universal; the concept of anyone being able to wear the mask is deeply human at its core. With great power comes great responsibility, and Spider-Man’s unwavering, unrivaled, universal status of being beloved has secured his standing as one of the greatest superheroes of all time. Even before Marvel Studios was given the rights to pull Spider-Man into their vast offerings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy insisted upon silver-screen success for the masked menace.

Spider-Man: Homecoming set Tom Holland’s take on the titular webhead into the spotlight, thus sealing his fate as a Marvel Cinematic Universe mainstay. This new-yet-familiar take on Peter Parker quickly had moviegoers demanding more as Holland’s time at Marvel Studios began to feel more permanent. With Marvel Studios’ solo Spider-Man movies now racking up a quadruple feature run, moviegoers are right to question how carefully the superhero-centric production company will craft Spider-Man: Brand New Day without mishandling such a telling chapter in Peter Parker’s cinematic arc.

“It’s a BRAND NEW DAY for Peter Parker. Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn’t remember him—and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him—sparks a change in Peter he may not have the power to control. But that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves—a powerful villain no one can even see,” Marvel Studios teases in their official synopsis, directly insisting that the movie may depart from the 2008 “Brand New Day” Spider-Man comic that built off of the highly controversial “One More Day” arc. How the next Spider-Man movie will take shape, though, may be detrimental to the fate of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Is Currently In Crisis

Following the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios has struggled to understand how the Marvel Cinematic Universe wants to reset. The moviemaking titan may have blindly attempted to keep itself completely relevant, outside of a handful of notable successes in this new era. It sometimes feels like there is little consistency in quality as each movie or television series attempts to catch audiences’ attention without fully understanding that superhero fanatics truly want to see Marvel Studios achieve the next.

It feels as though there is a lack of cohesion between most projects. Some characters or unreleased concepts get abandoned together, so it kind of looks like Marvel Studios is stabbing at instant gratification that slips away from its grasp. At the same time, success was never promised as the comic book movie phenomenon continues to age.

With little confidence in which direction to move next, the unconfident state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe feels purposelessly patched together. The ongoing fight for relevancy may be the goal all as Marvel Studios’ originality threatens to wear thin. Overreliance on fan-favorite characters to bear the weight of popularity slows down in-universe growth, and the overall rejection of new stories being told in the Marvel Cinematic Universe could be what hinders the diversity that the studio can explore without fear of backlash.

It feels like there is an outstanding lack of narrative throughline that also questions why the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to insist upon itself. There’s no central driving force that keeps Marvel Studios thriving. Even with legacy characters such as the 20th Century Fox X-Men preparing to return for Avengers: Doomsday, the nostalgia-bait doesn’t have that same appeal that once enticed curious audiences.

From a bird’s-eye view, the Marvel Cinematic Universe feels irreparably disjointed and lost to its own creative failure. Other superhero-focused movies and television series are taking greater risks, while Marvel Studios cannot define the overarching purpose for the next phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Growing frustration and exhaustion from mostly aimless additions to an endlessly growing franchise cannot salvage the sting of the harm that Marvel Studios has already cast upon itself. If anything, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently in a crisis.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Might Be Marvel’s Quick Fix

After the climactic and heart-wrenching aftermath of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel Studios may be able to regain its footing by looking to the much-loved wall-crawler to rebound the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With a slight dip taken in Spider-Man: Far From Home, the ongoing adventures of Spider-Man in live-action through the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been subject to strong praise and continuous support. With Spider-Man: No Way Home leaving Peter Parker and co. on such a sorry cliffhanger, there’s an eager need to explore what comes next for the friendly neighborhood era as he navigates such an uncharted new era while taking on even greater threats.

Challengers and Queer scriptwriter Justin Kuritzkes has been onboarded to revise the screenplay for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, massively suggesting that Marvel Studios is willing to take its filmmaking a bit more seriously once more. There’s confidence taken in Destin Daniel Cretton’s directing ability following his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. A grounded, more mature Spider-Man story revisiting the idea of Spider-Man as a street-level-ish might be exactly what the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs. Such an ongoing insistence on world-shattering cosmic threats doesn’t always mean Marvel Studios understands the heroes and villains they’re pulling onto the big screen. Through Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel Studios can readjust their focus through a “back to the basics” point of view.

Statistically speaking, Spider-Man has consistently been one of Marvel Studios’ strongest performers. If there’s a compelling, character-driven story at hand paired with strong performances and stunning visuals, Spider-Man: Brand New Day can double as a much-needed course correction. There’s strength in simplicity, and Marvel can profit from using Peter Parker’s next adventure as a display of story and spectacle, webbing itself together into something that makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe worthwhile.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31.

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